Yechezkel 16

1 6 Again the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,
2 Ben adam, cause Yerushalayim to know her to’avot (abominations),
3 And say, Thus saith Adonoi Hashem unto Yerushalayim: Thy origin and thy birth are from Eretz HaKena’ani; avicha was HaEmori (the Amorite) and your em Chittit (a Hittite).
4 And as for thy moledot (birth), in the day thou wast born thy navel cord was not cut, neither wast thou washed in mayim to cleanse thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out into the open sadeh, when thou thyself were loathed, in your yom huledet (day of birth).
6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee flailing about in thine own dahm, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy dahm, Chayi! (live!) Indeed, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy dahm, Chayi!
7 I have caused thee to multiply as the tzemach of the sadeh, and thou hast increased and matured, and thou art come to excellent beauty; thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast erom (naked) and bare.
8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, hinei, thy time was the time of dodim (love); and I spread My kanaf (wing, corner of garment) over thee, and covered thy ervah (nakedness); indeed, I swore an oath unto thee, and entered into a brit with thee, saith Adonoi Hashem, and thou becamest Mine.
9 Then washed I thee with mayim; indeed, I thoroughly washed away thy dahm from thee, and I anointed thee with shemen.
10 I clothed thee also with embroidered cloth, and shod thee with tachash leather, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
11 I decked thee also with jewelry, and I put tzemidim (bracelets) upon thy hands, and a necklace chain on thy neck.
12 And I put a nezem (ring) in thy nose, and earrings in thine oznayim, and an ateret tiferet upon thine rosh.
13 Thus wast thou decked with zahav and kesef; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth; thou didst eat fine flour, and devash, and shemen; and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst become fit for royalty.
14 And thy shem (name, renown) went forth among the Goyim on account of thy beauty; for it was perfect, through My hadar (splendor) which I had set upon thee, saith Adonoi Hashem.
15 But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the zonah because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy harlotry on every one that passed by; his it became.
16 And of thy begadim thou didst take, and adorned thy bamot te’lu’ot (gaudy high places, cult prostitution brilliantly colored harlot "beds"), and playedst the zonah thereupon; such things should not come, neither should they be.
17 Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of My zahav and of My kesef, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself tzelamim (images) of zakhar (male, i.e., phallic symbols), and didst play the zonah with them,
18 And tookest thy embroidered garments, and coveredst them [the idols]; and thou hast set Mine shemen and Mine ketoret before them [the idols].
19 My lechem also which I gave thee, solet (fine flour), and shemen, and devash, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them [the idols] for a re’ach hannichoach; and it was thus, saith Adonoi Hashem.
20 Moreover thou hast taken thy banim and thy banot, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them [the idols] to be devoured. Was this thy zonah harlotry not enough,
21 That thou hast slaughtered My banim, and offered them to cause them to pass through the eish for them [the idols]?
22 And in all thine to’avot and thy zonah harlotry thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast erom (naked) and bare, and wast flailing about in thy dahm.
23 And it came to pass after all thy ra’ah (wickedness)?Oy, oy unto thee! saith Adonoi Hashem.
24 That thou hast also built unto thee a gev (eminent place, cult prostitution shrine), and hast made thee a ramah (platform) in every rechov (public square).
25 Thou hast built thy ramah at rosh derech (crossroad), and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast spread open thy raglayim to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy zonah harlotry.
26 Thou hast also played the zonah fornicator with the Mitzrayim, thy very fleshy neighbors; and hast increased thy zonah harlotry, to provoke Me to anger.
27 Hinei, therefore I have stretched out My yad against thee, and have diminished thine food ration, and delivered thee unto the nefesh (passionate desire) of them that hate thee, the banot Pelishtim (daughters of the Philistines), which are ashamed of thy derech zimmah (lewd deportment).
28 Thou hast played the zonah also with Ashur, because thou wast insatiable; indeed, thou hast played the zonah with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29 Thou hast moreover multiplied thy zenut to eretz Kena’an unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.
30 How degenerate is thine lev, saith Adonoi Hashem, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of a brazen isha zonah;
31 In that thou buildest thine gev in rosh kol derech, and makest thine ramah in every rechov; and hast not been as a zonah, in that thou scornest hire;
32 But as the isha (wife) the mena’efet (one that commiteth adultery), which taketh zarim instead of her ish!
33 They give nedeh (gifts) to all zonot; but thou givest thy nadan (gift) to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy zenut.
34 And the opposite is in thee from other nashim in thy zonah harlotry, whereas none doth solicit thee to commit zonah harlotry: and in that thou givest an etnan (payment), and no etnan is given unto thee, therefore thou art opposite.
35 Therefore, O zonah, hear the Devar Hashem.
36 Thus saith Adonoi Hashem: Because thy passion was poured out, and thy ervah uncovered through thy zonah harlotry with thy lovers, and with all the gillulim (idols) of thy to’avot, and by the dahm of thy banim, which thou didst give unto them;
37 Hineni, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them around about against thee, and will uncover thy ervah (nakedness) unto them, that they may see all thy ervah (nakedness, pudenda).
38 And I will judge thee, as nashim that are guilty of no’afot (acts of adulteresses, breaking wedlock) and shefach dahm are judged; and I will bring dahm upon thee in chemah (wrath) and kina (jealousy).
39 And I will also give thee into their yad, and they shall throw down thine gev, and shall break down thy ramot (high places, cult prostitution sites of pagan worship); they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee erom (naked) and bare.
40 They shall also bring up a kahal against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and hack thee to bits with their charavot (swords).
41 And they shall burn thine batim (houses) with eish, and execute shefatim (judgments) upon thee in the sight of many nashim; and I will cause thee to cease from playing the zonah, and thou also shalt give no etnan (payment) any more.
42 So will I make My chemah (wrath) toward thee to rest, and My kina (jealousy) shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43 Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast provoked Me in all these things; therefore surely I also will repay thy derech upon thine rosh, saith Adonoi Hashem; and thou shalt not commit this zimmah (lewdness) in addition to all thine to’avot.
44 Hinei, every one that useth proverbs shall use this mashal against thee, saying, As is the imma (mother), so is her bat (daughter).
45 Thou art bat of thy em, that despised her ish and her banim; and thou art the achot (sister) of thy akhayot, which despised their anashim and their banim; your em was a Chittit (Hittite), and your av an Emori (Amorite).
46 And thine elder achot (sister) is Shomron, she and her banot that dwell to thy north; and thy younger achot, that dwelleth to thy south, is Sodom and her banot.
47 Yet hast thou not walked after their drakhim, nor done after their to’avot; but, as if that were too little a thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy drakhim.
48 As I live, saith Adonoi Hashem, Sodom thy achot (sister) hath not done, she nor her banot, as thou hast done, thou and thy banot.
49 Hinei, this was the avon Sodom thy achot; ga’on (pride), over fullness of lechem, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her banot, neither did she strengthen the yad of the oni (poor) and evyon (needy).
50 And they were haughty, and committed to’evah before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw.
51 Neither hath Shomron committed half of thy chattot (sins); but thou hast multiplied thine to’avot more than they, and hast made thy akhayot (sisters) seem righteous in all thine to’avot which thou hast done.
52 Thou also, which hast judged thy akhayot (sisters), bear thine own shame for thy chattot (sins) that thou hast committed more abominable than theirs; they are more righteous than thou; indeed, be thou disgraced also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast made thy akhayot (sisters) seem righteous.
53 When I shall restore their fortunes, the fortunes of Sodom and her banot, and the fortunes of Shomron and her banot, then will I restore the fortunes of thy fortune among them:
54 That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be disgraced in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55 When thy akhayot (sisters), Sodom and her banot, shall return to their former state, and Shomron and her banot shall return to their former state, then thou and thy banot shall return to your former state.
56 For thy achot (sister) Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy ga’on (pride),
57 Before thy ra’ah (wickedness) was uncovered, as at the time of the cherpah (disgrace) of the banot Aram (Syria), and all that are around her, the banot of the Pelishtim (Philistines), which despise thee all around.
58 Thou hast borne [the penalty of] thy zimmah (lewdness) and thine to’avot, saith Hashem.
59 For thus saith Adonoi Hashem: I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the brit (covenant).
60 Nevertheless I will remember My Brit (covenant) with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee a Brit Olam.
61 Then thou shalt remember thy drakhim, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy akhayot (sisters), thine elder and thy younger; and I will give them unto thee for banot, but not because of thy brit (convenant) [i.e., Sodom and Shomron had no covenant with Hashem].
62 And I will establish My Brit (covenant) with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Hashem;
63 That thou mayest remember, and be ashamed, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I have made kapporah (atonement, i.e., when I am pacified, appeased) toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith Adonoi Hashem.

Yechezkel 16 Commentary

Chapter 16

A parable showing the first low estate of the Jewish nation, its prosperity, idolatries, and punishment.

Verses 1-58 In this chapter God's dealings with the Jewish nation, and their conduct towards him, are described, and their punishment through the surrounding nations, even those they most trusted in. This is done under the parable of an exposed infant rescued from death, educated, espoused, and richly provided for, but afterwards guilty of the most abandoned conduct, and punished for it; yet at last received into favour, and ashamed of her base conduct. We are not to judge of these expressions by modern ideas, but by those of the times and places in which they were used, where many of them would not sound as they do to us. The design was to raise hatred to idolatry, and such a parable was well suited for that purpose.

Verses 59-63 After a full warning of judgments, mercy is remembered, mercy is reserved. These closing verses are a precious promise, in part fulfilled at the return of the penitent and reformed Jews out of Babylon, but to have fuller accomplishment in gospel times. The Divine mercy should be powerful to melt our hearts into godly sorrow for sin. Nor will God ever leave the sinner to perish, who is humbled for his sins, and comes to trust in His mercy and grace through Jesus Christ; but will keep him by his power, through faith unto salvation.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL 16

In this chapter the Jewish nation is represented under the simile of a female infant, whose birth, breeding, marriage, grandeur, and conduct, are described, in order to show the wickedness and ingratitude of, his people; who, on account thereof, are threatened with judgments; though mercy is promised to a remnant that should repent. The prophet is directed to make known to Jerusalem her abominable sins, Eze 16:1,2; and, in order to this, is bid to take up the following parable of a female infant; whose descent, birth, and wretched condition, at the time of it, are pointed at, Eze 16:3-5; which are expressive of the low and forlorn estate of the Jews originally; and then follow the benefits and blessings of God bestowed upon them, both in their infant and adult state; the preserving them alive in Egypt, and their multiplication there; and afterwards the covenant made with them, when brought out from thence; and the Lord's espousal of them to himself, as his own people, having a strong affection for them, Eze 16:6-8; the large provision of good things he made for them, both in the wilderness, and especially in the land of Canaan; the riches he bestowed upon them, and the flourishing and prosperous kingdom he raised them to, which made them famous among all the nations round about them, Eze 16:9-14; and yet, after all this, such was the ingratitude of this people, as to commit spiritual whoredom, that is, idolatry, to a very great degree, Eze 16:15; which is aggravated by their converting and applying the good things which the Lord gave them to idolatrous uses, Eze 16:16-19; by sacrificing their sons and daughters to idols, which were the Lord's, Eze 16:20,21; by not calling to mind the former wretched estate out of which they were brought, Eze 16:22; by building high places in every street and way, and there committing idolatries, Eze 16:23-25; by the various nations, whose examples they followed, and with whom they joined, as the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, Eze 16:26-29; and by the great difference between them and all other harlots, whom they exceeded, Eze 16:30-34; wherefore, on account of all this, they are threatened to be dealt with as an adulterous woman; made a spectacle of; condemned to die, to be stripped, stoned, and burned, Eze 16:35-43; and, that the Lord might appear to be just in executing such judgments on them, they are declared to be as bad as the Hittites and Amorites their parents; and worse than their sisters Samaria and Sodom; and therefore could expect to fare no better than they; and should become proverb and a byword, and bear their sins, shame, and punishment, in the sight of their neighbours, and be despised by them, Eze 16:44-59; nevertheless, the covenant of grace made with his chosen people among them should stand firm; which being manifested to them, would be a means of bringing them to a sense of sin, shame for it, and an acknowledgment of the Lord's grace and goodness to them Eze 16:60-63.

Yechezkel 16 Commentaries

The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.